This is the untold story of one of the biggest Zeppelins ever built: the USS Macon. Originally built in the early 1930s by German engineers, the Macon carried five Sparrowhawk planes inside her hull that could be launched and retrieved during flight.

Go inside the National Hurricane Center in Miami, fly into the heart of a killer hurricane on board the Hurricane Hunter s aircraft and see the world s largest portable hurricane simulator a machine capable of recreating the gusts and rain of a Category 3 as NGC explores the Anatomy of a Hurricane.

In 2009, National Geographic’s photographers took more than one million images from which only 1,000 could be published in the magazine. From 1,000, these 10 were singled out for lasting significance. National Geographic Magazine's Top 10 Photos of the Year presents a countdown to the magazine’s best image from 2009, chosen by National Geographic Magazine editor in chief Chris Johns from his list of the 10 best photographs published in the magazine last year. The photos cover a broad range of subject matter, from unexplored caves and endangered freshwater dolphins to the global food crisis and vanishing cultures. The featured photographers are all dedicated and adventurous, revealing the hard work, perseverance and occasional just plain luck behind that one-in-a-million shot that makes it into National Geographic. With exclusive interviews and footage from the field, as well as archival video and photographs, National Geographic Magazine's Top 10 Photos of the Year gives viewers a front-row seat to the selection process. Last year, National Geographic’s photographers took more than one million images from which only 1,000 could be published in the magazine. From those, Johns singled out 10 for lasting significance.

From the sand of Daytona Beach, to the dirt of Langhorne Speedway to the asphalt of Darlington Raceway, NASCAR has been a vibrant reflection of American society. In this episode, we meet Dario Franchitti and Jacques Villeneuve, champion motorsports racers. What else could they embark on that would be a true challenge?

A report by a team of leading astronomers in May 2008 seems to have finally put to rest an age old question... What is the ultimate fate of planet Earth? Traditionally, the prevailing view has been that billions of years in the future the aging Sun would loosen its gravitational grip on the planet and allow it to escape a fiery demise. The sobering reality is quite different and the clock is now ticking for our beloved home planet. Along with a team of leading scientists carrying out pioneering research in fields of biology, climatology, geology and astronomy, Naked Science goes on a quest to investigate what the future holds for planet Earth... and throws up some shocking surprises. Great supercontinents will form and fragment with lethal consequences, the oceans will turn red before floating away into space, plants and animals will be wiped from Earth before finally, all life will be extinguished forever. Using cutting edge scientific models that can make predictions not just thousands but million and even billions of years into the future, we can now more than ever see how the forces of nature will conspire to bring about the Death of the Earth.

The Bible is a repository for tales of miracles and divine interventions. But did any of the miraculous events described in this sacred book really happen as recorded? This remarkable new series examines the great biblical stories and the passionate quests to understand them. Secret Code of Revelations dissects the final book of the Bible’s predictions of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who traditionally symbolise pestilence, war, famine, and death, leading to the battle of Armageddon, and explains why millions of people believe that these apocalyptic prophesies are coming true today.

Helicopter Wars explores the extraordinary personal bravery and intense jeopardy of four military missions where helicopter crews risk their own lives to come to the aid of others. Crew members provide gripping firsthand testimony revealing their fear and anxiety as their skills are tested to the limit. Computer generated images illustrate how helicopters operated in intense environmental conditions and executed complex flight patterns while helicopter demonstrations detail the complications pilots faced in the skies.

The Bible is a repository for tales of miracles and divine interventions. But did any of the miraculous events described in this sacred book really happen as recorded? This remarkable new series examines the great biblical stories and the passionate quests to understand them. In Hunt for the Ark, we ask whether this golden casket that contained the Ten Commandments really existed, and if so, whether there is any logical explanation for its mysterious disappearance. Was it really spirited away from Solomon’s Temple by the Knights Templar?

Pterosaur, the winged reptile, is one of nature's great success stories. Often referred to as pterodactyls, pterosaurs survived as long as the dinosaurs but they are not dinosaurs. They spread across the globe, soaring or skimming over oceans, inland seas, lakes and rivers, where they became commanding predators of fish and other creatures. They diversified like mad and ranged from the size of a sparrow to that of an F-16 jet-fighter. But pterosaurs have long proved a mystery to scientists, ever since the first fossil was discovered in Germany in 1784.

When the USS Macon met its end, the Navy's zeppelin ambitions died with it.The USS Macon was one of only two flying aircraft carriers ever built. The other was her sister ship, the USS Akron.The Macon was built by Prague-born engineer Dr. Karl Arnstein in Akron, Ohio. Her first flight was in April 1933. Both the Macon and the Akron were capable of carrying small F9C “Sparrowhawk” propeller planes, which were launched and retrieved during flight.

When the USS Macon met its end, the Navy's zeppelin ambitions died with it.The USS Macon was one of only two flying aircraft carriers ever built. The other was her sister ship, the USS Akron.The Macon was built by Prague-born engineer Dr. Karl Arnstein in Akron, Ohio. Her first flight was in April 1933. Both the Macon and the Akron were capable of carrying small F9C “Sparrowhawk” propeller planes, which were launched and retrieved during flight.

Climb aboard the newly overhauled U.S.S. Eisenhower, one of the U.S. Navy's most advanced "super carriers." The "Ike" is poised to deploy for the first time in four years, but her 6,000 crew must prove they and their aircraft are battle ready.

The USS Eisenhower is the pinnacle of aircraft carrier technology. The 97,000-ton steel monster boasts next-generation radar and combat capabilities and is run by 6,000 personnel. See it in action during her final trials before combat.

How does the drug trade work? Can it be stopped or should it be regulated? And what are the personal costs? Those are just some of the questions answered in this miniseries, a comprehensive look at society's most abused drugs. First-person perspectives from traffickers, dealers, users, law enforcement and medical professionals detail how the drugs are processed and moved onto the streets, and the effects they have on the human body.